Published by the DAILY
RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, February 1,
2015
Love affair on the run
I am so in love. A
new love for sure. My love affair began back
in December when my running buddy found out he could not run on a treadmill or
elip on an elliptical without pain. He
was rehabbing from an issue with his back that impacted his hip that impacted
his knee. With winter snows making cross
training on a bike very unpleasant, or on a stationary bike slightly more
unpleasant, there had to be an alternative.
Of yes, he could use the stair stepper, but how long does
anyone want to go stepping? The rowing
machine was out as his therapist said it would interfere with his rehab.
From my perspective it was only a matter of time when the
first snows fell and I would be dealing with the same indoor machines. Yes, I was OK on the elliptical and I could
row, row, row, but stepping is boring and treadmilling is – well it’s
dangerous. Run on terra firma and you
are in control. On a treadmill the machine is in control. Stop paying attention or stumble and you get
shot off the back end by the dern thing.
Who wants to be a spectacle on
American’s funniest home videos?
That’s when I found my new love. It began at the hotel health club while at
the USATF annual convention in Anaheim in early December. A woman was using a crazy looking machine
and she looked like she was running.
Hmmm. USATF conventions are jam
packed with meetings, and more meetings.
I never got back to the health club to look into this new thing.
Then, with the crush of Christmas over, I managed to flip
through the latest running magazines that had piled up in my in-box. And there it was – a machine that defies
gravity and lets you run with no impact and at your own speed. You can go as fast or as slow as you want and
you won’t get bucked off the thing.
I had to have it.
With a machine so new I was sure there would be none to be found in New
Jersey, but I was wrong. In less than an
hour I was staring at my new love. * Not
that it seemed to love me back at first.
The salesman demonstrated the ease of using it, but he noted that it
took him some time before he got the hang of it.
Good thing too, because the first time I put my feet in the
stirrups and attempted to run I might as well have been on that America’s
funniest home video! It does take some
practice – a learning curve as they say.
My pal had the same difficulty getting into the rhythm. The bigger question was the effect on the
injured knee. Once he mastered the
running technique his knee was just fine.
Unlike the elliptical and the treadmill; there was no pain.
Online reviews had said that running on the machine had made
it possible to be fit to run once an injury issue had resolved. Users were able to go out and run as if they
had not been in rehab, and were fit and ready to compete.
What about the boredom factor? Yes, some people can stay on a treadmill or
elliptical for an hour or even longer.
But most of us, even watching television, still can’t wait to get off
the machines. Not so with my new
love. I am building my “mileage” back up. On Friday I ran with my new love for nearly
an hour.
##
* Zero Runner is available at Gym Source of Short Hills, 740 Morris Turnpike. Ask for John.
A calendar of USATF sanctioned events can be found at www.usatfnj.org or at www.raceforum.com for running and tri and
biathlon events.
Contact Madeline Bost at madelinebost@verizon.net.
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